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China Housing Prices Decline NOVEMBER 8, 2011 http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000142405...3449783572.html Accelerating Fall in Sector Signals Government Efforts Are Working, but Raises Fears About Growth By DINNY MCMAHON, ESTHER FUNG and JAMES T. AREDDY BEIJING

I cant imagine what will be the COE like in the coming future.... SINGAPORE: Minister for Transport Lui Tuck Yew has said that Singapore's annual vehicle growth cap would be cut further from next year. Mr Lui did not say how much lower it will go. The quantum, he said, would be announced in October. Mr Lui said this in an interview with the local media ahead of the opening of the new Parliament sitting next week. The annual allowable vehicle growth rate now stands at 1.5 per cent. One way Singapore manages its vehicle growth population is through the vehicle quota system. Under it, the Land Transport Authority (LTA) determines the number of new vehicles allowed on the roads. It takes into account the prevailing traffic conditions and the number of vehicles taken off the roads permanently. The last time the quota was cut was in 2009, when it was halved from three per cent to 1.5 per cent. Explaining the reason for the upcoming cut, Mr Lui said one consideration is the fact that Singapore's road network will be considerably scaled down in future. "In the recent decade, I think the roads have grown by about one per cent and going forward, we think it probably will grow only about 0.5 per cent per annum, this is the road network," Mr Lui said. "You can't allow it (the vehicle quota) to grow at the rates in past years simply because the road networks are not expanding as what we have done before. "And there is also a limit to what we can do with regard to congestion pricing. So it's really trying to find a balance to these two measures". Mr Lui ruled out the possibility of a zero-per cent population growth for vehicles. "It is a combination of both ownership measures as well as usage measures that is most ideal," he said. "You could theoretically bring it down to zero or even below zero but I think it will bump up against the aspirations of some who want to own a car. "Notwithstanding whatever it is, we try to improve on the public transport system and there are those who feel that they really need a car. "They have elderly, sickly parents around and it is a lot more convenient, so we understand all that." One expert said any drastic cuts would not make sense given that the average speed on expressways last year was about 62 kilometres per hour (km/hr). It was 28 km/hr along arterial roads and within the CBD. In 2002, the average speed on expressways was 64.8 km/hr. It was 63.3 km/hr in 2010. Along arterial roads and within the CBD, the average speed was 24.6 km/hr in 2002. In 2010, the speed improved to 28 km/hr. Associate Professor Anthony Chin, director of the Economic Executive Programme at the Singapore Centre for Applied and Policy Economics, said: "Are we saying that 62.3 km/hr is not acceptable? That we have to cut ownership? "Secondly, do we understand usage behaviour well enough to just go for this blatant cut in the ownership?" "It's not just a question of ownership but it's the usage, because we are now tackling the usage problem -- congestion is a usage problem. "You can own cars but if everybody uses it at the same time, at the same location, well, you don't need a professor to tell you that you will get traffic congestion because you are just loading it into the system." Assoc Prof Chin added: "At this particular moment, the road speeds seem to be acceptable, unless you are saying that in the future, that this road space will not grow by one per cent and you don't do anything, you don't do any traffic management, you don't do any of these policies that would affect the behaviour of the motorist. "Then I would agree that you would have to cut -- that makes sense, does it not? If the space is not going to grow by so much and you want to maintain these speeds, then of course something's got to give." Industry players said the cut in vehicle growth will very likely push up car prices. Tan Chong Motor general manager of sales and marketing Ron Lim said: "Based on vehicle population numbers of 925,772 as at end-August 2011, 1.5 per cent vehicle growth would translate to 13,887 Certificates of Entitlement (COEs). "Thus, every 0.5 per cent cut will translate to 4,629 fewer COEs. "Given the total COE number to be released is dependent on the growth allowed and the replacement of deregistered vehicles, even if we assume de-registration numbers remain constant, as per numbers from January-June 2011, every 0.5 per cent cut in the population growth will translate to a cut in COE numbers by around 10 per cent compared to the current COE quota. "This situation occurs due to the already record low number of COEs released currently. "All these only point to higher COE prices which will further impact purchases, causing further delay in people replacing their vehicles, thus, not addressing the whole purpose of curbing vehicle population growth. "As the reduction of COEs will be across the board, businesses will also be impacted due to higher operating costs from commercial vehicles. "Thus, overall, this will mean an even tougher time for the auto retail industry and eventually higher ownership cost to car buyers and business." But there is some good news for motorists -- evening Electronic Road Pricing (ERP) surcharge at some gantries such as along the CTE, Chinatown and Boat Quay areas may be tweaked. Mr Lui said the tweak will involve the timing of evening ERP, not doing away with the surcharge. He said: "This is something I have asked LTA to study -- whether it's possible to tweak the timings a little bit during the evening period. "Frankly, I think there are some drivers who are prepared to pay a certain amount for ERP in order to have a smoother drive home, particularly in the evenings. "There are some who would say, 'why should I pay?' I think there is room for some re-look into the evening peak ERP, not to do away with it, but to tweak the timings." Details will be announced in October. -CNA/wk

Hi bros anyone notice recently these past few months buffet prices increase crazily? To give you examples, most buffets in better hotels are in the 70++ region now as compared to 50++ previously. i think quite ridiculous lor Carlton hotel normal hotel only but now also 70+++, Carousel,Melt 70-90++

i realized that prate price jumped in many fold when prata man was the president. so will KFC prices go up now since we have a KFC president?

Hope you guys can contribute. Let me start with the 1st: 1) Hankook Ventus S1 Evo ~ $250 (Sin Hong Hwa Tyres)

Still "AFFORDABLE" Prices of HDB resale flats increase by 3.1% in Q2 PRICES of Housing Board (HDB) resale flats rose 3.1 per cent in the second quarter compared to the first, according to official figures released on Friday. This is almost double the rate of increase of 1.6 per cent seen in the first quarter - reversing a moderation of the rate of increase of prices seen in the last four quarters. Analysts say this is likely due to more owners taking their homes off the resale market due to recent rules which tightened ownership rules for HDB flats. HDB home owners could also be putting off upgrading plans as prices of homes in the private property market is at an all-time high. HDB's figures showed the number of resale flats that changed hands increased by about 6 per cent to 6,581 transactions in the second quarter. The HDB departed from its usual practice and did not release an overall median cash-over-valuation (COV) figure across all estates. In the previous quarter, this figure was $21,000. (Why? Scared ar? Scared ar?) Preliminary data from property agencies obtained by The Straits Times, however, had pointed that COV had spiked recently to about $32,000. COV is the cash premium paid to sellers above the valuation of a flat.

ST News Jul 19, 2011 No reason for sharp drop in BTO prices: Khaw By Daryl Chin IT IS wrong to compare the prices of the latest Build-to-Order (BTO) flats - offered last week - and those launched in May and conclude that Housing Board's prices for new flats are coming down. National Development Minister Khaw Boon Wan said this yesterday and added that there is no reason for a sharp decline in prices unless market sentiments dip. Speaking to reporters after his first official visit to the HDB Hub, he noted that 'pricing a flat is quite tricky as there are many factors at play', citing variables like the floor the unit is on, location and proximity to amenities like MRT stations. The prices of HDB's new flats are typically pegged to prevailing resale prices but are discounted. Referring to previous media reports, Mr Khaw noted that in each BTO launch, there is a range of products 'so you cannot just look at the July BTO, the lowest is so much, and then the May one, and say there is a 18 per cent drop'. In last week's launch of 3,600 BTO flats in seven locations in Sengkang, Tampines, Jurong West, Bukit Panjang and Yishun, the indicative starting prices for three-, four- and five-room flats were $137,000, $217,000 and $274,000.

Be realistic in your vote. note that prices have so far risen 100% compared to 5 years ago 5 years ago, $1k psf in suburbs are unheard of...e.g. Jurong, pasir ris etc... i am very curious......2k psf for jurong condo? comon...when the average pay of grad is 2.5k-3k? 1 thing for sure, if im the government, i will be sweating if that's gonna happen...

SINGAPORE - Premiums for Certificates of Entitlement (COE) - which have surged in the past year - are expected to increase even further. Industry players who spoke to Media-Corp said they expect COE quotas to be reduced in the next quarter. In addition, demand for cars is expected to remain high. Mr Raymond Tang, honorary secretary of the Singapore Vehicle Traders Association, said: "COE prices will be moving up again because of the demand in the market, especially for Category A (small cars). "This is because dealers are bringing in smaller continental cars which go into this category - and people do want to buy these models." Mr Alvin Lim, sales consultant, Komoco Motors, said: "Quite a lot of the taxi operators, they have to get COEs as well in order to put their taxis on the road. "For this reason, they bid higher - as high as possible in order to secure COEs." Dealers said the higher prices are driving customers away, with some turning to second-hand cars. Mr Tang said Singaporeans are look ing at used cars because of the substantial difference in price between such cars and a brand new one. "The difference can be about S$30,000 to S$40,000 if you opt to buy a two-year-old car," he said. If the rise in COE premiums continues, dealers said smaller distributors will be driven out of the market. http://www.todayonline.com/Singapore/EDC11...to-soar-further

Good times keeps rolling on. Probably break $100k by end of the year? ----- COE prices inch closer to $70,000 By Tony Ng Prices for certificates of entitlement crept closer to the $70,000 mark at the end of July's first open bidding exercise. Premiums for large cars (1,601cc and above) went up by 1.2 per cent, compared to June's last bidding, to end at $68,501. This was the highest for 2011 since January's first bidding. Similary the open category rose by 5.1 per cent to end at $68,811. Of all categories, it saw the second-highest increase. Click here to find out more! The largest increase was reserved for the small car category (1,600cc). Premiums rose by 11.4 per cent to end at $55,989. Commercial vehicle and motorcycle premiums saw increases as well. The former went up by 4.8 per cent to $32,590 while the latter inched up 3.1 per cent to $2,360.

news say that old and new subscribers will have to pay more. who else has contract with starhub tv and feeling moody like me now? http://www.straitstimes.com/BreakingNews/S...ory_685161.html

Everyone complain about the high COEs prices and overpopulated car ownerships in Singapore, but there seems to be no solutions. I hate people who likes to complain but offer no solutions. So I propose some ideas of mine.. 1. COE. Scrap the current, all successful bidders will pay the minimum COE price for that bidding. New changes, for example, there are 1000 COEs but 2000 bids for them. So 1000 successful bids will pay the COE prices accordingly to what they have bidded. Some will pay few dollars for their COEs while some will pay tens of thousands for their COEs. This will keep the COE prices in check. 2. One household/address can only own 1 car. If within that same household/address, want to own a 2nd car or third car, can.. For the 2nd car, pay 1.5 times the price of the more expensive car. The 3rd car, pay 1.75 times. 4th, pay 2 times. Of course you may say, register the address to another address, where there is no car ownership, can.. no problem, just pay $$$ to keep the bugger from exposing the deed. But when dealing with $$$, sure will have some arguments and most likely will kenna exposed.. Thanks for reading, how's my solution to the overpopulated car ownership in Singapore?

HDBs are for staying not for making money out of it. The fact that HDBs prices are so high is cause by the Cash Over Valuation(COV). So if the owner ask for $50k COV, the next flat he/she buys, must pay out the COV taken. If the COV for the next flat is $5k, the balance $45k must pay vomit out, either to some charity foundation or contribute to nation building. Cannot say just scrap the COV, if so how to decide so to sell, of course will sell to the highest buyer. So an elderly couple, can get some $$$ after selling their HDB and pocket some COV for their retirement. But for those intending to get another HDB, they won't dare to ask for too much. For those intending to leave Singapore, even they ask for very high COV, let them lor, considering they are the minority, if too much, people also won't buy from them. So any comments?

Found this to be interesting comparison world wide. Which countries are cheaper than the U.S. ? SG is too small to show on this map, but should be in the same range as Thailand since their RON 95 petrol is more expensive than SG. Which countries are cheaper than SG ? There are countries that are even cheaper than MY or Brunei. "Since we're on the subject of US gas prices, let's take a look at how they compare to the rest of the world. Having talked to some of my international friends a while back, I already knew that gas is relatively cheap here, what with all of the government subsidies and what not. But of course we still complain. I see $3.90 per gallon and I can't help but give the stink eye, while our friends over there in the UK are forking over nine bucks per gallon. The map above shows typical prices for RON 95 petrol, as they compare to the United States'. Countries colored red typically have higher prices, while those colored green typically have lower prices. Wikipedia didn't have data for all countries, unfortunately, but there's enough there to get the idea (minus African countries). Why in the world does Venezuela have such incredibly low gas prices at 9 cents per gallon?"

Tan Lay Kuan Intrigued by MM Lee

Why this hawker can't afford to maintain prices Letter from Edward Chan 02:05 PM Apr 26, 2011 I read with interest that the Retail Price Watch Group (RPWG) enlisted more than 120 hawker stalls to pledge to maintain their prices for six months. Mr Lee Yi Shyan, Chairman of the RPWG, Minister of State for Trade and Industry and Manpower and MP for East Coast GRC, was present to launch the initiative on March 20. The RPWG was "encouraged to see more businesses taking the initiative to help Singaporeans mitigate increases in prices." Despite the Ministry of Trade and Industry's efforts to maintain food prices at hawker centres, it is with regret and trepidation that I read about the high-handed stance that the National Environment Agency is taking toward hawkers. My retiree friend was notified by NEA that his stall at Old Airport Hawker Centre had been "assessed by professional valuers to be fair and reasonable" regarding his rental increase from S$1,110 to S$1,500 with effect from April 1, after taking into account "stall size, location and the prevailing economic conditions". This letter came in response to his appeal through Mr Lim Biow Chuan, MP for Marine Parade GRC. It leaves me saddened that agencies are taking initiatives counter to each other's. On the one hand, MTI wants to keep inflation low and prices stable. On the other hand, NEA is bent on keeping in line with "prevailing economic conditions". My friend is keen to maintain his prices but with a 36 per cent increase in rental, he will find it difficult not to pass this price increase to his customers. NEA's letter also states: "If you have difficulty maintaining your stall rent, you may consider assigning the stall to an eligible party or surrendering it to NEA." This is his livelihood as a retiree. So it's a take it or leave it approach? Such compassion, coming from the civil service. I can understand if this were a private landlord. Todayonline

They die die want you to believe it's "affordable". Maybe few days later they will come out a movie to try convince you. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-5A_3veIJmA

Blood sucking company raised prices by 3 cents for petrol and 5 cents for diesel!

Finally, a letter dat makes sense. But unfortunately, though the oil cartel her is guilty on all levels of anti competive behaviour, gahmen don't give a fark for selfish reasons. ST Forum Mar 23, 2011 Watchdog should monitor pump prices THE Government recently formed a price watchdog, the Retail Price Watch Group, to scrutinise excessive price increases of daily necessities and anti-competitive behaviour by businesses. However, motorists are subject to the whims of petrol 'cartels' which raise pump prices. Caltex took the lead on Monday to raise petrol prices by three cents a litre and diesel prices by five cents a litre ('Caltex raises pump prices on costlier crude'; yesterday). If past behaviour is any indication, the other petrol firms are likely to follow suit. I urge the price watchdog to monitor pump prices and help to maintain fair prices for motorists. Elgar Lee

Just thinking if Jap car prices will drop because of the quake, esp. those MIJ ones. Since its possible for them to be affected by the quake and the radiation leak.

soya bean drink packet up from 50cents to 60 cents, thats an increase of 20%, Tip Top AMK curry puff price increase to $1.30 and plain prata up to 80 cents and must order minimum 2 pieces and the biggest scam in hawker food - egg prata, now up to $1.30 and dey use those cheap small egg and not Seng Choon egg...... guess time 2 carry Thermos flask with home made kopi and kaya and butter toast hehehhehe

Dear All MCFers... My aunt who run provision shop told me, milk products including MILO price is increasing by next month in a steep manner.. and my relative start to buy a bit more to stock it up.. I thought it's only heresay but she told me, sales man also confirm the news liao.. I hope this news can save u all some $$.. But infor wrong, dun blame me hor..

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Libya-unrest...set=&ccode=

Hey bro's and sis's, Petrol prices seem to be going up today. Saw a sign that Esso going up as of 10am today.

Cause previously I don't see such huge price disparity between Nymex and Brent (Brent usually slightly higher only). But now its USD15 difference!! Brent is USD100 while Nymex already drop to USD85. Something is seriously wrong...........